01-24-03
BY JACK BULLOCK
BLUFORD - The Mid-South Conference title is pretty much in the bag for Woodlawn as the Cardinals are undefeated in league play at 8-0.

However Webber Township is making a move to get right in behind Woodlawn on the MSC ladder.

The Trojans overcame a couple of Waltonville rallies in the second half and converted their last seven free throws to post a 59-51 triumph over the Spartans Friday night.

Coach Clarence Gross' squad improved to 10-8 overall and 3-3 in the league standings.

Waltonville and coach Brandon Miller drop below .500 at 8-9 (4-4 in the Mid-South).

Waltonville, after trailing 13-12 at the first horn, grabbed a 14-13 lead starting things off in the second when Derek Lamke scored on a driving lay up.

But Webber made its first big scoring burst to give the Trojans a lead that they would never relinquish.

Joey Ullery went 'coast to coast' after making a steal to get things started for the Trojans and his lay up gave Webber a 14-13 lead.

After Brad Porter made 1-of-2 free throws for the Trojans, Webber converted 'back-to-back' steals into easy baskets.

Brad Bane went the length of the court after grabbing an errant pass to push the lead to 18-14.

Then Ullery struck again scoring on a fast break lay in after pilfering an errant Waltonville pass to make it 20-14 Trojans, which forced a Spartan timeout with 5:11 left.

"We didn't come ready to play tonight," said Brandon Miller, who is in his first season as head coach at Waltonville. "They made a switch to a zone defense in the second quarter and we just didn't attack it the way we should. We stood around and made some mental mistakes which cost us a chance at winning the game tonight."

Lamke scored on a nice move in the lane to cut the lead to 20-17 with 3:02 to play before the half.

But Webber went on a 7-1 run, capped by an Ullery 3-pointer that pushed the Trojans lead to 27-19.

Waltonville came right back with Andy Kitowski canning a 3-pointer of his own to make it 27-22 at the half.

Waltonville made its best move of the night to start the third quarter.

Kitowski picked up where he left off in the first half with a long-range bomb that found the mark and it was 27-25 Webber to start off the second half.

Jeremy Newell tipped in a miss shot on the Spartans next trip and the game was even at 27.

However Webber outscored Waltonville 7-2 in the next 2:28 as Ullery took the Trojans on his shoulders by scoring five of those points.

He scored on a nice move in the lane while being fouled by Matt Waldman at the 5:26 mark. His charity pushed the advantage to 32-29.

The lead reached 40-31 when Bane scored on a fast break lay up after he made a steal. This was Waltonville's fifth turnover of the quarter, which ended at 42-35.

"Ullery is a player and I know that he will continue to get better each game." said coach Gross, who in his first year as head coach at Webber. "The work he is doing is paying off."

The Spartans managed to make a rally to make things close in the fourth quarter.

A Justin Williams score in the paint with 2:54 remaining cut the lead to 46-43.

However Webber scored the next five points. Bane and Porter combined to make 3-of-4 free throws and Porter made his biggest play of the contest, scoring after stealing a pass and the lead was 51-43 with 2:10 left.

Webber put the game away by making 8-of-11 free throws in the final 1:38.

"I guess some of the work we are doing shooting free throws is starting to pay off now." said coach Gross, talking about his team's 20-of-25 free throw shooting on the night.

Lamke led Waltonville with 16 while Newell added 10 points and Andy Kitowski scored eight.

Ullery and Bane pitched in 18 and 15 each for Webber while Porter and Kurtis Withrow each scored 10. Steven Ward, a 6-5 senior, added six points to the total.

"This is definitely a confidence builder for us. Out kids are working hard and I tell them that if they keep working hard, good things will happen." added Gross.